Kandersteg - Oeschinensee
I did this hike on the 13th of November, 2021. I had a couple of friends visiting from Denmark and we decided to go to Oeschinensee. The cable car was closed when we went here, so we made a loop and hiked up from Kandersteg.
Full route: Swisstopo
It was a typical November day, with a very grey weather forecast throughout Switzerland. Hiking out of Kandersteg, we were though able to catch a bit of blue sky and very nice views to the mountains in the background.
For the first part out of Kandersteg, you hike on a normal road before the path turns into a real hiking path. Despite it being in the middle of November, there was still nice autumn colors and a very crips feeling in the air.
Hiking up towards Oeschinensee, we had really nice views down towards the river, Kandersteg and surrounding mountains. From up here, we could also better see the fading but still slightly golden larch trees spreading out in the forest.
The closer we got to Oeschinensee, the more cloudy and foggy it got, and once we arrived, the clouds were hanging very low over the lake. I don’t mind grey and cloudy weather when I hike, and often find, that it can give a very special gloomy mood, which I like.
We could see on the weather forecast that it would clear up within the next 45 minutes, so we decided to walk a bit along the lake shore before having lunch. There is a panorama trail running up above Oescinensee, which I would like to hike another time, once there is more clear views down to the lake.
As promised, the clouds slowly cleared and while enjoying our lunch, we got the first glimpses of Blüemlisalphorn rising above Oeschinensee. The autumn colors and the clouds made for a very picturesque view.
After lunch, we took another stroll along the lake before starting our descent back to Kandersteg. Because of the weather and closing of the cable car, we were almost the only ones up by the lake and it was very peaceful.
Back in Kandersteg, we went into one of the hotels for a cup of coffee before taking the train back to Zürich.
